Considering all the hype surrounding the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, you would think that the July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ($34.99, Scholastic) is one of the most anticipated events in human history. Well, almost.

The tome is indeed well on its way to break some records in the literary world, sitting at 1.5 million preorders just on Amazon.com (as of June 29). That’s three weeks from release and already surpassing the site’s previous preorder record, for 2005’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Even totaling sales from all seven volumes of J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard series, the world will still have to wait before Harry tops the all-time bestseller: the Bible (estimated at over 6 billion in sales, according to Richard Ash’s Top Ten of Everything, 2002). See how Deathly Hallows compares to other anticipated moments in pop culture. It can’t hold a hovering chandelier to soccer, but the book could help push the Potter series past the Super Bowl in popularity:

715,100,000 people watched the final game of the 2006 World Cup. Italy defeated France 5-3 in Germany.

121,500,000 estimated copies sold, in all languages, of the first six Potter books, combined.

105,900,000 people watched the series finale of M*A*S*H on February 28, 1983; 80,400,000 watched the May 20, 1993, finale of Cheers on television, and “only” 76,300,000 people watched the end of Seinfeld on May 14, 1998.

Weird science Lines in Anticipation of the Final Installment of the Harry Potter Series, After Reading About the “Fringe Research” Being Conducted by the Pentagon.

Comics for Christ Young Laurel Templeton spends her summer vacation “kidnapped by five cyborg flies and shrunk down to insect size so [she can] travel back in time with them to save the world from an evil spider.” You know, typical stuff.

Can't escape Snape at LeakyCon Sure, Figawi Race Weekend is a blast, but how many times in my life would I have the opportunity to mingle with more than 750 J.K. Rowling devotees? So, this past Memorial Day weekend, I decided to skip Nantucket and join the all-ages, international assembly of Potter-heads at Boston's Park Plaza Hotel for LeakyCon 2009.

Hairy Potter Whatever else it may be, the Harry Potter Edda is surely the most popular narrative about the dawning of pubertal awareness ever created.

Bunny girl A film about one of the world’s bestselling children’s books and the ballsy British woman behind it marks the stirring return of Babe director Chris Noonan. Watch the trailer for Miss Potter (QuickTime)

What's Potter up to now? We chatted with Paul from Harry and the Potters about the seventh book, the election, and what to expect when Harry and the Potters hit SPACE Gallery on June 26.

HOW BIG IS HARRY POTTER | July 02, 2007 Considering all the hype surrounding the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, you would think that the July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of the most anticipated events in human history.

GOTTA GO | June 13, 2007 Break out your best red-and-white ensemble: the White Stripes are coming to town.